


You're So Vain

by kaydeeshay



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Best Friends, Cute, Cutesy, Friendship, Fun, Gen, Potions, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-11-16 11:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11251890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaydeeshay/pseuds/kaydeeshay
Summary: When Chad steals Mal's spellbook and Evie accidentally drinks an ego potion he makes, her attitude turns sour. Can Mal convince her friends that something is wrong and get Evie back to the girl they used to know?





	1. Cheater, Cheater Strawberry Stealer

**Author's Note:**

> A little story I wrote because I love Descendants! This will consist of nine chapters. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants.

* * *

The cafeteria at Auradon Prep was filled with the usual buzz of the students chattering. Evie was gently blowing on her fingernails in an attempt to make her freshly applied coat of nail polish dry faster while Mal was looking through her spellbook in deep concentration.

"Wow, look!" the purple-haired girl exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening. "How cool is this? Here's a spell to automatically set anything on fire. Talk about pyro power! They literally have a spell and potion for everything in here."

Evie scrunched her nose in uncertainty, but curiosity got the better of her, and she peered over to take a peek in her best friends book. "You sure you should be looking at that stuff, Mal? I thought you were trying to be good. Setting stuff on fire doesn't exactly seem like the type of thing a good person would do."

Mal bit her lip somewhat guiltily, shrugging her shoulders. She closed the book slowly. "What fun is it to be good _all_ the time? Besides, I think I've been doing a pretty decent job."

Evie gasped in delight. "You totally have and I'm so proud of you! I mean, it's been at least two days since you stole that chocolate covered strawberry."

Mal looked up towards the ceiling, shaking her head in remorse. "Curse those things for being so addicting. I did not let my temptation get the better of me today, though," she stated happily, pointing to her strawberry-free lunch tray.

"You might want to hold that thought," Ben whispered as he sneaked up behind Mal, placing his chin on her shoulder while giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Mal jumped, startled by her boyfriend's sudden appearance. Ben started laughing.

"Hey!" Mal cried, her green eyes flashing lightly. "That's not very nice! On two accounts, might I add. First, you scared me and now you're laughing about it! I thought I was the bad one around here."

"Guess your ways are rubbing off on me," he teased. "So sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

Mal shook her head defensively. "Nope."

The sandy haired boy placed a plate in front of her piled high with chocolate covered strawberries. "Not even for these?"

Mal licked her lips and reached for one of the juicy, sweet fruits. Stuffing it into her mouth eagerly, her lips were instantly stained a deep red. "You're forgiven," she assured him through muffled words.

"And to think... you were _this_ close to avoiding your temptation," Ben chuckled, taking a seat beside her.

A look of regret crossed Mal's face. She finished the strawberry she was currently eating and wiped her mouth. When she was done, she placed the stem on the side of the plate with the others, gently pushing them away.

"I was only teasing. What's wrong?"

Mal looked down at the table in shame. "I, um...I kind of stole one a couple of days ago. I didn't mean to! And I was going to pay for it after lunch. Honest! But I was too ashamed to admit I made a mistake. You know me and my pride."

Ben touched her shoulder affectionately. "It's okay," he assured her. "Everybody makes mistakes. You can pay for it today. I'll even come with you to give you that extra boost of courage."

Mal smiled, a warm feeling that was still somewhat unfamiliar to her washing over her entire body. It seemed to happen the most when she was around Ben, and she had to admit she liked it. Other than knowing now that stealing was wrong in general, one of the reasons she was ashamed whenever she messed up was because she was afraid of disappointing him.

Suddenly, a brunette boy took a seat by Evie. "I have two tests today that I've barely studied for due to band, a ten page paper that I'm only half done with due tomorrow, and a presentation to prepare for by the end of the week. I don't seem stressed, do I? I'm not stressed. Needless to say I am stressed."

Evie laughed sympathetically, taking Doug's right hand in hers. "Aw, Doug. You'll be fine! You know you're super smart."

"Did I hear the word stressed?" Jane interrupted, pulling up a seat beside Doug. "Because I am being forced to audition for the school play against my will. I totally know the state of stressed. I would love to have someone to relate to right now."

Doug and Jane both continued to vent about their stress as Evie attempted to calm both of them down.

Jay walked up to the table, bumping into Audrey, who did not have her undivided attention on where she was going. She was on her cell phone posting a status about what time cheer practice was that day.

"Sorry!" Jay apologized as the phone flew out of Audrey's hands. He bent down to pick it up, checked to make sure that it wasn't damaged, and handed it back to the petite brunette.

It was then that they noticed the chaos. Their eyes darted back and forth at the dual conversations going on.

"Are you getting anything out of this?" Audrey asked him over the noise.

Jay shrugged. "Something about a stealing strawberry being in a play but it can't participate and it feels guilty because it has too much homework."

The two of them sat down in front of their friends, giving them a second to notice that they were there. No such luck.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?" Jay finally spoke up; Mal kept talking to Ben like they were the only two in the room.

"Jane, why are you being forced to audtion for the play?" Audrey questioned her friend; Jane continued to talk to Doug, making Audrey feel completely invisible.

Jay turned to Audrey, giving her an expression of defeat. Suddenly, a smirk formed across his lips, signaling that he had gotten an idea. He raised his fingers to his lips, letting out a loud whistle.

Mal, Ben, Evie, Doug, and Jane all turned to Jay. None of them seemed fazed by the whistle. "WHAT!?"

"We've been sitting here for, like, the past ten minutes trying to get your attention." Audrey pressed.

"Oh, we're so sorry that all of our attention was not completely focused on you, princess." Mal stated somewhat icily. "Next time we'll try to be a bit more compassionate. Forgive us for forgetting for a second that the world revolves around you."

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Audrey replied, giving the violet-headed girl a sneer. "You know, this whole being good thing isn't exactly working out for you. And for the record, I was talking to _Jane."_

"Now, now. Don't fight in front of Dude!" Carlos whispered as he walked up to the table. "It makes him nervous. Who's a good boy?"

The pace of the light brown dog's tail picked up as he gave Carlos a light lick on the cheek. Carlos smiled and patted the dogs head affectionately. "What's going on?"

"Everyone was basically ignoring us when Audrey and I walked up." Jay informed him. "We were trying to figure out why."

"Mal is having a meltdown because she stole a strawberry the other day," Ben explained.

"Told you the whole being good thing wasn't working out for you," Audrey commented snidely, giving Mal another glare.

"I'm having a meltdown because I have too much homework," Doug confessed.

"And I'm having a meltdown because I'm being forced to audition for the school play," Jane squeaked, clutching her stomach nervously.

"Yeah, and why is that?" Audrey asked again. "You shouldn't be forced to do something you don't want to do."

"Mother thinks I'm way too shy. She says this will, and I quote, 'let my inner star shine.' I don't have an inner star. People like me do not have an inner star! I'll pass out. I'm almost certain of it."

Mal pursed her lips in thought. "I'd try not to worry too much about it, Jane. Just because you're auditioning doesn't mean you'll get the part. Get through the audition as best you can and the rest will be history," she told her friend, waving her hand in the air as she had just solved every problem in the world.

Evie's gaze rapidly darted across the room. She crinkled her nose in distaste and let out a scoff. "Ugh, here comes King Arthur's gift to the world. Or so he thinks..."

Chad Charming reached the table, smoothly spreading his arm across Evie's shoulders. "So, my blue-haired beauty... you want to catch a movie this weekend? I know you do. Problem is I have about forty-five assignments due. Think you could handle it?" He flashed her his famous smile, but the sparkling pearly whites that used to leave her hypnotized now left her nauseous.

"Ew, no!" Evie proclaimed, moving Chad's arm from across her shoulder, repulsed. "Been there, done that. I learned my lesson. To be honest, Chad, I don't even really like you."

He pouted. "That's too bad." Then he turned to Carlos. "How 'bout you, De Vil? I'll pay you."

Carlos shook his head. "Chances are Dude would eat it. Not only that, but I don't want to," he emphasized, shooting him a fake grin. "Thanks anyway!"

Chad grit his teeth and turned to Doug. "How about you, Dopey?"

Doug let out a high-pitched laugh. "First of all, the name is Doug. Second of all, you have no idea how hilarious it is that you're asking. I have enough homework this week without worrying about yours. Plus, I wouldn't do it, anyway. You're on your own, Chad."

Chad crossed his arms in anger and turned toward Mal. She put her hand in front of his face in a swift motion. "Don't want to. Can't. Trying to be good. Cheating is wrong."

Chad let out an angry laugh. "Oh, c'mon! Won't anyone help me?"

Jane, Jay, Audrey, and Ben shook their heads.

"How is actually _doing_ your homework helping, anyway? You'll never learn if you keep having people do it for you," Jane scolded.

"Just forget it. But mark my words, you'll regret this," he warned them, storming off.

"Humph, well... somebody's touchy." Evie acknowledged. Everyone laughed.

The conversations ensued, but this time, everyone was engaged. So engaged, in fact, that no one even noticed when Chad walked by and casually grabbed Mal's spell book off the table.


	2. Hunger of Persuasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Othello.

"Persuasion potion, persuasion potion, persuasion potion..." Chad muttered to himself as he furiously flipped through Mal's spell book. He knew he only had so much time to get the book back before Mal and her friends would notice, so he was getting a bit frustrated. "Isn't there an index or something in this stupid thing?"

After spotting the spell book on the table once Mal and her friends had rudely denied his very kind request to do his homework, he had come to the conclusion that he would have to fix the problem himself. The solution? A persuasion potion that would convince even the coldest of polar bears to purchase ice in their hometown of Alaska.

"Ah-ha!" he exclaimed, tapping his index finger on the page excitedly. "Here it is."

He started gathering the things he would need in order to make the drink. Once the last ingredient was added, he stirred the concoction rapidly. His eyes glowed in excitement. "This will totally keep me from having to do homework for the rest of my life," he whispered to himself. "I only have to figure out who I choose to be the victim to drink it."

He glanced down at the page of the spell book again and groaned in exasperation. "This is a boost your ego potion! Not exactly what I need. I'm pretty awesome, if I do say so myself."

He thumbed through the book again, searching for the right page of the potion he needed. He found it quickly, gathered the ingredients even faster, and stirred it as if his life depended on it. He double checked the potion once more, certain he had the right one this time. He grabbed the glass that the drink was in and rushed out of the kitchen.

He walked past the table at which Mal and her friends were sitting. The group still seemed entirely engrossed in their conversations. _Do they ever shut up_?

He whistled softly and nonchalantly as he walked by Mal, who did not even remotely notice as he placed the book back in front of her. Luckily, none of her friends seemed to, either.

He walked by Carlos next, switching the curly-headed boy's drink with the persuasion potion. _That's what you get for being so rude to me._

Chad was still fuming, though not quite as badly as before. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave a nod of satisfaction as he made his way back to his own table.

"So, what's the play?" Carlos asked Jane, taking a sip of his drink.

" _Othello_ by William Shakespeare," she responded softly.

"Oooh, a man torn apart by intense jealousy! I like it. Maybe I'll consider auditioning myself."

"Mother wants me to audition for the role of Desdemona, of course, but I'm really not sure I'm cut out for the part. She's a lot stronger and braver than I am."

Carlos frowned. "That's not true, Jane. You're great! You just need to believe in yourself."

The meek and petite brunette managed a small smile. "You think so?"

"I know so," he assured her.

"Maybe you're right. Besides, like Mal said, I might not even get the part. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing."

A short, shrill chime echoed throughout the cafeteria, indicating the end of lunch.

Jay grumbled, snatching his rusty orange beanie off of the table and throwing it over his long, black locks. "Guess we better get to class."

Mal walked up to the cash register with Ben by her side. Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red as she confessed to her theft from the other day. She bowed her head in shame, reluctantly holding out a couple of crinkled dollar bills in order to pay for the strawberry.

"I appreciate your honesty," the register worker told her, happily accepting the money. "Let's try not to make a habit of it."

Ben smiled at Mal, gently grabbing her hand. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Um, YES!"

Ben gave her a knowing look.

Mal rolled her eyes. "I guess not."

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good. I have to go, but I'll see you later, right?"

"I'd like to, but I have an art contest tomorrow and I have to finish my masterpiece. It's up against a lot of other stuff. I want it to be perfect."

"That's okay. I have a lot of stuff I need to do, too. Being the new king is not easy. Tons of responsibility."

Mal nodded in understanding as Ben promised to be at her art competition the next day, and the two headed off to their individual classes.

Mal groaned in disdain as she walked into the classroom. She had The History Of Captain Hook Since 1835. It was so boring that she hated it even more than Remedial Goodness. The only bright side was that she had it with Carlos; he waved happily as she took her seat by him.

Chad marched into the classroom next, taking the seat on the other side of Carlos. Mal glared at him, but he paid her no attention.

"So De Vil, here's your second chance. You going to do my homework or what?" He held out his hand which contained a fairly significant amount of gold coins.

"Look, Chad, Carlos made it extremely clear that he is not..." Mal interjected, taken completely by surprise when Carlos interrupted.

"I'd love to do your homework!" he beamed, taking the bright yellow coins out of Chad's palm.

Mal blinked in confusion. _Wait, what? That's weird. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with this earlier._

The teacher walked into the room and everyone turned towards the front. Mal attempted to shrug it off. _Maybe he changed his mind and really needs the money. Note to self: talk to him about it later._

The second her classes for the day were over, Mal headed to her room and began working on her art piece. Though she would almost rather die than admit it, she would be lying if she told anyone that she wasn't nervous. She was a very competitive person; to lose to anyone else would be an indication of her art not being superior. She had spent practically all of her childhood years covering the walls in grafitti back home on the Isle of the Lost. She knew what she was doing. Not only that, but art was one of the few things throughout her life that gave her an emotion that she couldn't quite describe. Happiness? A sense of confidence? Whatever it was, she knew that art was a big part of her life and one of the few things she were passionate about.

Finishing up the Mal masterpiece with the last few strokes of her paintbrush, she stood back and admired her work from a birds-eye view. The canvas spotted green, purple, and black depicted a picture of her mother. Only... it wasn't the mother she used to know.

This picture portrayed a huge purple and green lizard with beady eyes, looking out to the audience with what Mal felt was a mixture of regret and hope: the regret of past mistakes and the hope of learning to love.

Of course there were things about the concept of love that Mal still didn't quite understand. Sometimes she questioned whether or not she truly knew what the emotion felt like. All she knew was that Auradon had turned out to be not so bad after all, her friends meant a lot to her, and she couldn't stop herself from grinning whenever she saw or thought of Ben.

She only hoped that her mother could someday experience the amazing emotions Mal was now feeling herself.

She clicked the side of her cell phone, her wallpaper of Ben lighting up with a faint glow. The digital numbers on the front read 8:43.

_Wow, almost nine o'clock,_ she thought, letting out a tiny yawn, which was interrupted by a loud growl from her stomach. _I think I better go grab a snack before I head to bed. I was so in the zone with my painting I forgot to eat dinner._

She snuck out of the room and shut her door quietly so as not to disturb anyone in the surrounding areas. Deep down she knew that she wouldn't get in trouble if she got caught. It wasn't quite time for curfew and students were allowed into the kitchen after hours, but for whatever reason, her internal instincts were telling her differently. She felt like she was being sneaky.

If she were being honest with herself, these same internal instincts were probably what caused her to jump a mile high when she turned on the light in the kitchen and was thoroughly surprised to see Evie standing there.

Mal put her hand over her chest and started laughing. Evie joined in.

"Let me guess. You missed dinner?" her friend asked once they had gotten over the initial shock.

Mal nodded. "I've been working on my art piece for tomorrow. As surprising as it is, I didn't even notice that you hadn't been back to our room. What have you been up to?"

"Been working on costumes for the play coming up and hanging out with Doug," she finished quietly, a light blush creeping up her cheeks.

Mal shot her friend a particularly toothy grin. "You really like him, don't you?"

Evie let out a contented sigh. "He's amazing, Mal. You know the feeling. Ben, right?"

Mal bit her lip somewhat shyly as a picture of the young king flashed through her mind. "Yeah."

The picture went away as her stomach reminded her why she had come to the kitchen in the first place.

"Somebody's hungry," Evie commented. "I am, too."

"Well, luckily for you," Mal began as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a medium sized plastic container, "I have some of my famous Mal's magnificent cheese dip." She headed toward the pantry and pulled out a bag of potato chips.

Evie's eyes glistened. "Extra spicy?"

"You know it."

The two of them grabbed a chip out of the bag, eagerly covering them in the delicious cheese sauce.

A few seconds after Evie had taken her first bite, she started waving her hand in front of her face. "So hot!" she exclaimed. "Need water!"

She looked around the room frantically and found a cup of clear liquid sitting directly in front of her. She wasn't sure where it had come from, but she was desperate. She swallowed the beverage as fast as she could, hoping that it were water.

After she drank it, she noticed that it had a bit of a fruity taste, so it definitely wasn't water. Flat sparkling water, maybe? Either way, her mouth no longer felt like it would shoot out flames ten feet across the room, and for that she was grateful.

"You okay?" Mal asked with a tiny giggle as her friend wiped a tear from her eye.

"Yeah," Evie breathed, reaching for another chip. "So hot. But good. _So_ good. It's always the first bite that gets me. I'll be fine."

The girls laughed and talked as they enjoyed the rest of their snack until they realized time had gotten away from them; it was almost eleven. They headed back up to their room. After they had brushed their teeth and gotten ready for bed, Evie took a look at Mal's artwork.

"You are insanely talented, you know that?" Evie asked as she crawled into bed. "I wish I could paint like that."

"Thanks, Eve. That means a lot. You know, you're talented, too. Just in a different way. There's no way I could make costumes as beautiful as you do. You'll be there tomorrow, won't you?"

"Of course. I have to see you get that first place ribbon."

Mal smiled at her friend and turned out the light, pulling the covers up to her chin. "Good night."

Her friend let out a muffled goodnight. Mal heard soft snoring within seconds.

The violet-haired girl chuckled to herself and reminded herself to tell Evie in the morning that she had another talent she was unaware of: falling asleep instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :Feel free to leave kudos and comments. Love you all!


	3. Feeding on Creativity

The next morning at the Auradon Prep art festival, the sun was shining brightly. Despite the power of the rays beaming down, the temperature was surprisingly cool.

 _Perfect day for this,_ Mal thought.

Taking one last look at her own piece, she realized that the inner parts of herself were currently struggling with one another. On one hand, she wanted to take a look around at everyone else's creativity to see what her work was up against. On the other, she was afraid that the comparison of the other pieces might make her lose confidence in her own abilities.

She didn't have too much time to think about it, though. Carlos walked by her briskly with an arm full of books, interrupting her thoughts.

"Carlos, where are you going? Aren't you going to stay for the art contest?"

"Yeah, I just have to get these books back to the library. I was up all night doing homework."

This triggered Mal's memory of the previous day. "Yeah, a lot of that is because you offered to do Chad's homework after you said no. Why?"

Carlos stifled a yawn and shrugged. 'I don't know. There's just something about him, don't you think? He can be very convincing."

Mal stared at him curiously. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. Now go return those books and hurry back here. You're going to miss the judging!"

Carlos' eyes lit up. "I'm on it!" Filled with new gusto, he started running across the campus.

 _Huh_. _Maybe I'm pretty convincing myself. I've never seen Carlos move quite so fast. Something is definitely up with him. Whatever. I don't have time to worry about it right now. I need to check out some of my competition._

She started walking around the tent, carefully eyeing each piece. She was amazed at all the different forms of art there were: paintings, pottery, sculptures, mosaics. The tent was filled with a mass of endless artwork, and most of it _was_ pretty jaw dropping. The good news was that looking at the pieces didn't diminish Mal's confidence. She was proud of what she had created, and whatever happened, she had no control over it. Deep down she knew this, but that didn't stop her from keeping her eye on the first place ribbon. She wanted to win. She wanted to win _badly._

Jane walked up beside Mal, admiring all of the work alongside her. "Lots of cool stuff, huh?"

Mal nodded.

"Are you nervous?"

"Me? Nervous?" She scoffed. "Never."

"I would be," Jane admitted, fluffing the bottom of her blue skirt, "but I'm sure that's no surprise. I wish I could be more like you. How do you stay so confident?"

Mal thought about her response for a second, then shrugged. "Just comes with the territory, I guess. You still worried about your audition?"

Jane peered down at the ground and gave a half-hearted nod.

Mal smiled. "You'll be fine. Promise."

"I hope so."

Carlos appeared again, still as enthusiastic as before. "Fifteen minutes until judging. I'm kind of hungry. Anyone else want anything?"

"No, thanks." Mal responded.

"I think I could go for some popcorn," Jane informed him as she handed him some money.

Carlos gave it back to her. "It's on the house."

Jane smiled happily. "You sure?"

Carlos smiled back. "Positive. Be right back."

A couple of minutes later the white-and-black haired boy returned, his arms filled with an array of popcorn, corn dogs, hamburgers, nachos, funnel cakes, and any other kind of food that would typically be served at an art festival.

"CARLOS!" Jane shrieked with a laugh as he handed her a bag of popcorn and some of the other treats, "I asked for a bag of popcorn. Not for you to buy out the entire art show!"

Carlos frowned and stared down at the ground sadly. "Sorry. I thought you might be hungry. I don't know what happened. Something came over me and I decided to buy everything you might like."

A wave of guilt washed over Jane. "Oh, it's okay, Carlos. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. I _am_ hungry. You didn't have to go to all this trouble. But that's very sweet. Thank you." She took another one of the nachos and a corn dog from out of his hands as he smiled up at her.

"I'll take that," Jay commented with a cheeky grin as he appeared behind Carlos and snatched a cotton candy out of his hands. "You ready for this, Mal? It's now or never."

"Are you kidding? It's art. I was painting before I could walk. I was born ready."

"I ran into Evie and the others on the way. They said they'll be here in a little bit."

"Good, 'cause we have about five minutes." Mal responded, checking her watch.

As Jay had promised, the rest of the group showed up as a voiced boomed over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentleman, if you will all head to the center of the art tent, judging for the art competition is about to begin. There are lots of amazing pieces to be presented. You won't want to miss it!"

A mass of people from outside started filing into the art tent. Ben, Evie, Carlos, Jane, Jay, and Audrey all stood together as Mal took a place beside her painting.

"Before I announce the winners, I feel the need to express that this years competition was extremely close. There are so many vibrant talented works of art that it was hard to decide," Queen Belle informed everyone. "However, we did feel that there was one work that stood out just a little more than the others. With that being said... drumroll, please!"

The sound of drums chorused throughout the tent.

"In third place, we have Allison, who captivated us all with her sculpture of the white rabbit."

Allison smiled graciously and walked up to collect her ribbon.

"For runner up, we have Mal, who's painting had such bold and elegant colors that it was most certainly difficult for it to go unnoticed."

 _Runner up?_ Mal pouted. _But I worked so hard!_ She tried to smile and look happy as she took her yellow second-place ribbon out of Belle's hands, but she wasn't sure how well she was succeeding.

"Finally, our first place ribbon goes to and our overall winner is... JORDAN. Her chalk mosaic of Agrabah was so realistic that it took our breath away. All of the judges agreed that we felt like we were actually there. Congratulations, Jordan."

Jordan walked up and gave a polite nod to the Queen as she took her ribbon, beaming the whole time. The whole tent thundered with applause and cheers, and she waved out to the audience with enthusiasm. "Thank you," she proclaimed proudly. "I worked really hard on my piece, as I know we all did. Congratulations to Allison and Mal as well. You're both very talented and you truly deserve this award as much as I."

 _Kiss up,_ Mal thought to herself, scrunching her nose. Instantly, she felt guilty. She liked Jordan a lot and Mal had to admit, her mosaic _was_ pretty incredible. She knew she would get over the sting of losing eventually, but that didn't change how she was feeling at that exact moment. _Be nice, be nice. Jordan deserves it. It's okay. There's always next year. You win some, you lose some._

"No offense, Mal," Evie declared, walking up to her friend "but Jordan's mosaic really _was_ better."

 _Ouch._ Mal thought as she blinked sadly. She gained her composure, trying not to let her friend see how her words had affected her. "Yeah, Jordan's art is pretty fantastic, but I'm sure I'll come up with something even more outstanding and take the ribbon next year."

"That's the spirit," Ben told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and kissing the top of her head. She smiled and leaned into his neck, instantly feeling better.

"I don't know. If Jordan keeps coming up with stuff like this, she'll be tough to beat," Evie went on, admiring the mosaic. Then she squinted, deep in thought. "I bet I could make something like this if I really set my mind to it."

"I'm sure you could," Mal replied. "But fashion is where your heart truly lies."

"Says who?"

"Um, you?"

Evie laughed. "True. But maybe I need to expand my horizons."

Ben attempted to change the subject, trying to get rid of the slightly awkward aura that was forming. "Hey, Carlos, you mind giving me one of those cheeseburgers?"

"No problem," Carlos stated, the tin-foil glistening in the sunlight as he handed him the burger with a wide grin. "I can even go get you some fries. Be right back!"

"CARLOS, WAIT!" Ben cried as he ran off, but it was too late. He was long gone. "I'm really okay with just the burger," he trailed off in a whisper.

"Anyone notice something off with Carlos?" Audrey asked. "He sure is at everyone's beckoned call today."

"Obviously," Ben retorted. "I was just thinking the same thing myself."

"Yeah, he bought me practically the entire carnival." Jane chimed in, pointing to her nachos, popcorn, and corn dog.

"I didn't want to say anything," Mal pointed out, "but he ended up doing Chad's homework last night after he right out refused, too."

"Interesting." Audrey drawled, watching Carlos at the fry stand from a distance. "Ah, well. He's always been a pretty helpful guy. A little goofy, maybe. But helpful. I'm sure it will pass."

Everyone nodded their heads and agreed they would worry more if the behavior continued.

Mal enjoyed the rest of the day with her friends, though Evie's earlier words about Jordan's art being better echoed throughout her head for most of it. She didn't like the fact that it was bothering her so much, but she couldn't help it. Finally, she decided to let it go. One of the things she appreciated the most about her best friend was that even if it stung a little, she was always honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope those who have been following this story enjoy this chapter! Kudos and comments always welcome :)

**Author's Note:**

> That's all for the first chapter! If you enjoyed it and are excited for more, please feel free to leave kudos and comments. They are very encouraging! :)


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